The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-01-06
SORTING COCOANUTS.
A SHIP LOAD OF $4,000 BROUGHT
FROM BARACOA

Testing the Quality Of Each Nut-Usisg
the Spoiled Ones rs . Substitute for
CosI-Growth Of the Cocoasut Trade.
Steam. Tramp-.
A little lead colored steamer, drawing no
more than nine feet of water when loaded,
lay at q pier Coenties slip. People
familiar with shipping would have said 1t .
glance that she WAS i'm the fruit or some such
trade to the Spanish main on account OF her
sixe and looks. gang Of men were lifting
bushel baskets full of cocoanuts over the low
hatch combinX amidships and sliding them
along greasy planks toward another gang of
men on the pier. These men lifted the bas-
kees up to the low tables made Of planks
laid on top of cheap barrels. Three baskets
could he accommodated at one time on each
of the two tables. A man before each basket
picked the nuts up, one in each hand, and
knocked them together lightly, and then
either tossed them into a big coarse bag
which a man held open before the table or
tossed them to a heap on the pier.
Those thrown To the pier were spoiled more
or less some of them being so far decayed as
to break open. Those thrown into the bags
were sound. The light tap told the quality of
the nut to the inspector. Each bag held 100,
and soon a. filed il was drawn to one side and
had its mouth sewed up by q man who used
a needle nine inches long and soft jute Irvine
for thread Other men gathered the spoiled
nuts into bags and loaded them into a COW
cred wagon that had nothing painted on it to
Indicate its ownership reporter who
watched the men found that from five to
seven nuts were rejected for every bag that
was filed. One of the workers, although
kept busy either passing along the full bas-
kets or the empty ones back, found time to
talk. He said:
This vessel brought 1000 of the nuts from
Baracoa. We began on them at . o'clock
this morning and will have them all out by
8 o'clork We are paid by the hour at long
shorenlens rates The boss took the con-
tract TO discharge this cargo at sixty cents
per Lao.
THE SPOILED ONES.
What Is done with the spoiled onesf
''They sold to that man indicating q
man by the unmarked wagon. He is .
baker and confectioner. He says they make
a better and cheaper fire than coal Rather
curious. though, that only bakers and con-
PETITIONERS should have learned what good
fuel they are
The nuts were slowed loose in the hold of
the vessel with nothing tn keep them from
shifting in the steamer got heavy
lurch during gale on her way to port
merchant VIII" was familiar with the trade
said:
We import from l:.OO.0U to 1900 900
cocOanuts year. On an average q per
cent. of them spoil on the way. About one
half Of them come from Baracoa. San Bias
is the next port Of consequence. The little
steamers are driving the schooners out Of the
business, although the heat Of the engine
rooms is detrimental to the nuts. Six years
ago there not single steamer in the
Baracoa trade. In 1881 there were Isl
schooner cargoes brought here from Baracoa.
In 1852 there were five steamer cargoes
brought-sIl American The schooner car
goes ro~e to 23I i'm 1855, besides II Yankee
steamer cargoes. The next year the British
tramp entered the trade and in two years cut
| the schooner cargoes to ~, while the number
of steam tramp cargoes rose to ~. The Yam
kee steamers barely held their own with II
cargoes. II is a case Of the survival OF the
| fittest- The fact is, the steamers, although
| flying the British flag, in great part
| owned by American capital. Cocoanuts al
| Baracoa cost two cents each, delivered on
| board the steamer free. There is very little
| freighting DONE the steamers and cargoes he
| longing usually to the firms engaged i'm the
| trade New York Sun.